but thanksTry saving them to your Desktop, they are 1024 in size and it looks like the Forum Board is shrinking them or the www.************ (http://www.************/) website.

Alex Fly

03-02-08, 13:56

Thanks for the scans. :tmb:

daventry

03-02-08, 14:14

Something is wrong, no matter how big i make them, the size stay the same and the words are unreadable. :(

Tomb Raider Master

03-02-08, 14:35

Thanks for posting. :tmb:

raiderfun

03-02-08, 14:37

Awesome , thank you ! :tmb:

The logo has been changed once again :o

touchthesky

03-02-08, 14:39

I did my best to write it out;

Another Lara cover? More noise about Tomb Raider? It would be fair to accuse NAG of being of being obsessed (or at least very accomodating) with this series. Some pundits might say that we're just infatuated with a virtual girl that we'd never find in the real world. But those readers who have followed our various features and reviews on Laras adventures know that we just enjoy the type of game this series is known for. In truth, we are not obsessed, just really big fans. In all honesty, we'd run just as many GTA covers if Rockstar wasn't such a prima donna.
But Tomb Raider is not just important from a fan perspective. There are very few games that operate in this genre and until the recent arrival of Nathan Drake and Uncharted, Lara was arguably the only game character actively making us scale ancient tombs to find lost treasures. Prince of Persia folows the same tradition, but the two are only similar in a few aspects. The point is that we love Tomb Raider because no other game out there does it like this.

Of course, when talking about Lara, you have to touch on the dark years-which are really the majority of the franchises lifespan. As a common knowledge by now, Tomb Raider suffered several increasingly terrible games, forcing publisher Eidos to bring in Crystal Dynamics, another Eidos studio best known for the Legend Of Kain games. The good news is that the studio pulled Lara out of the bog, cleaned her up and sent her on probably her best adventures yet. The bad news is that we've not seen a Kain game since.
So far Crystal has two TR games under it's belt: Legend and Anniversary. Both were succesful and enjoyed by fans. Legend introduced a new cinematic quality that previous developer Core had problems getting right, while Anniversary showed that the studio understood the games fundementals. Even though it was a spiritual remake of the first game that many regarded as a cash-in attempt, Anniversary held its own. In reality, the two were developed by seperate teams-Tomb Raider 8 has been in development not long after Legend was released. Dubbed Underworld, it's clear that the latest adventure will be the one where Crystal cements its reputation with the series.

--------

I'll do the rest later, maybe, it's taking an awful long time :)

thanks for posting the scans!

spelunking

03-02-08, 15:32

Good job, touchthesky! I typed out from where you left off (seriously, don't know what your vision problems are, all you old people!!) Bold is added to parts that are new/interesting:

First, a bit of honesty. NAG never saw Underworld in action. We would have, but a visa glitch left the writer stuck at the airport. Thus, we missed the trip to Mexico, where Crystal and Eidos unveiled the new game. Still, the tickets were paid for, we had the nice cover and, c’mon, it’s Lara. We covered this already. Also, usually one would be skeptical and very careful. But we’ve met the Crystal guys before when they first unveiled Legend. There is no doubt in this magazine’s opinion that the guys in San Francisco have only just begun with the series and, bar any unbelievable screw-ups, Underworld is going to be awesome. No we can’t verify that, but suffice to say, we plan to buy it regardless. Call it an educated guess or a matter of faith, but Underworld will be great.

So what is Underworld? Lara is doing her usual thing, finding ancient treasures in surprisingly complicated and elaborate tombs and forgotten cities. She will globetrot to various locations, including Mexico and South Asia. Photographers were dispatched to the various parts of the world and took not only thousands of pictures of local ruins, but of the local plants as well. This will be Lara’s first proper next-gen adventure and while Crystal regarded Legend as the series’ rebirth, Underworld represents a dynamic step forward, boasting a whole new world of detail. As is often the case with a series, several things invented for the previous games didn’t make it into the final product (or were simply not possible). Thus Underworld becomes the lucky recipient. Visually it will be a huge leap forward. In Anniversary, Lara got dirty or wet as she engaged nature’s elements, but in Underworld, this will be a lot more targeted. Specific parts of her body, such as a knee, can become dirty and only parts that come into contact with water would be cleaned (and become wet). A new (and presumably dynamic) weather system pushes things even further as rain will cascade off Lara and the surrounding environment. On top of it all, Lara will be able to sweat, showing the exertion of her tomb-hopping. The rain is for more than just a pretty factor: water will make ledges wet, upping the chances that Lara could slip or lose her grip.

Dynamism seems to be a theme for this game. In the past, players would follow well-worn paths to puzzle set-pieces, which they had to solve to continue. In Underworld, the linearity gives way to exploration to solve a civilisation’s ancient trap. Lara will need to find its various parts and figure out how they work together (or for each other). There seems to be a lot of climbing and clambering in the game, boosted by a new animation system that blends motion-capture (a first for the series) with traditional hand animation. Does this mean that Lara will be as nimble as the guy in Assassin’s Creed? Probably not. “Go where you want” climbing isn’t exactly the Tomb Raider formula, but it will be well beyond anything fans are used to.

Even though Underworld is a direct sequel to Legend, the combat is taking a step back for more exploration. There will be enemies that require vanquishing – hence Lara’s new hand-to-hand combat abilities but they will be fairly rare. Above ground you can expect the usual wildlife keen on eating the British lass, while underground new and mythological creatures guard their lairs with a vengeance. Since the plot is still a secret, it’s not clear what kind of human adversaries and characters can be expected, but time will inevitably reveal that.

So yes, we never saw this game in action. We are absolutely smitten by the series and whatever calibre of objective non-bias you’d expect you will not get from us. Just for the record, we’re pretty chummy with the publisher too. But, despite all of that, we’re confident that no fingers will be burned here. You might not be completely happy with what Crystal has produced for the series so far, but you can admit that they are far from f***ing it up. Have a little faith – soon you’re going to enjoy a whole lot of Lara.

Picture captions:

Fourth scan
(top pic of lara crouching in front of ruins): While Underworld makes liberal use of dynamic lights, the team felt that this made things like plants and architecture feel flat with hard edges. Thus the engine employs a mix of dynamic lights and light-maps to get the right balance.

Fifth scan
A girl always needs some foundation. Lara’s skin comprises of more than a dozen layers. These determine the skin tone and texture, how light scatters, shadows, sweat and dirt, etc.

Sixth scan
SLIPPERY SLOPE: This could cause a lot more screams of anguish and disbelief. – something Tomb Raider fans are already pretty familiar with. In the game a weather system will keep changing the environment for Lara. The best example of this is rain that will make ledges slippery and hard to hold onto.

Seventh scan
FIND YOUR WAY: In Underworld it will not be a simple matter of following the well-worn route and discovering a set of ancient doors that need to be opened via a somewhat redundant puzzle. Now the tombs are elaborate and the mechanisms that grant access to them even more so. Lara will have to explore a level to discover the various aspects of a tomb and the puzzles could become quite large and inventive. To help her with this, Lara has access to vehicles such as her bike (and others, yet to be announced). Crystal Dynamics hasn’t elaborated on this aspect of the game yet, but it sounds like a big step forward from the stoic business of going deeper into the tunnel because there is nowhere else to go.

Moon-Safari

03-02-08, 15:48

Looks like one of us wrote the article, a true TR fan. Too bad they didn't get to go to Mexico. They probably would've paid the most attention and reported on the most grueling details. Eidos, give these guys a private showing of the demo! :pi:

I did my best to write it outGood job, touchthesky! I typed out from where you left off.Thanks for translating. :DLooks like one of us wrote the article, a true TR fan.I was too lazy to translate, i thought you guys could read it all clearly. :pOr a free copy! Poor bloke is set on buying it. :p (I thought all reviewers were provided with free copies anyway?)I dont get it. :oThe front page :vlol: "ALSO: something something graphics, SAUSAGE" wtf? :vlol:

Great scans, thank you for these :)Huh :o

Alex Fly

03-02-08, 16:36

Thanks to the persons who typed the article here. :tmb:

tomblover

03-02-08, 16:39

I saw a screen I never had seen before. Thanks! :D

Moon-Safari

03-02-08, 16:53

Thanks for translating. :DI was too lazy to translate, i thought you guys could read it all clearly. :pI dont get it. :oHuh :o

Yeah I could make it out perfectly. I was referring to the reviewer who said he would buy the game no matter what. Thanks for the scans :)

gtkilla

03-02-08, 17:04

Another awesome article! Thanks, daventry! :tmb:

trXD

03-02-08, 17:22

Awesome , thank you ! :tmb:

The logo has been changed once again :o

That logo is made by the magazine. They just got the trl logo and stuck underworld underneath it.

ben croft

03-02-08, 17:25

Thanks!!! :tmb:

:wve:

Evan C.

03-02-08, 19:47

Thanks :hug:

LaraLover32

03-02-08, 19:54

Thankies

Sekhraider

03-02-08, 19:57

Wow thanks for the scans and exclusive info. Too bad you guys didnt get to go and see the unveiling. TRU continues to look lovlier with each new image and detail about the game that comes to light. :jmp:

daventry

03-02-08, 20:37

South Africa is a late country, we get everything a week or a month later by the time your product is being crawled with spiders and its old news to you and then we come like a noob, ooh look what i got look what i got. :p

spelunking

03-02-08, 20:41

South Africa is a late country, we get everything a week or a month later by the time your product is being crawled with spiders and its old news to you and then we come like a noob, ooh look what i got look what i got. :p

Aww, we still admire your enthusiasm! :p It was a very nicely written article, and it did have some interesting info and intelligent speculation.

Oh, and by the way, I admire your juice too. I discovered this really great juice called "Wilde" I think that's imported from SA and it's delish. Just thought I'd put that out there...